It might still be early in the season, but Arsenal are looking like a scary proposition at the moment.
Mikel Arteta’s side are flying atop the Premier League table and remain unbeaten in the Champions League with three wins from three.
While not every win has been emphatic, Tuesday night’s demolition of Atlético Madrid certainly was, as to a man, the Gunners were exceptional.
Moreover, while he didn’t produce a goal involvement, Bukayo Saka was once again a major threat, and in even more encouraging signs, another of the starters is starting to show shades of the talisman in his own game.
Saka’s start to the season
Last season was a strange one for Saka and Arsenal as a whole. Although he missed almost four months of football due to a hamstring injury and subsequent surgery, the Hale End phenomenon still racked up a brilliant haul of 12 goals and 14 assists in 37 games for the side.
Saka 24/25
Appearances
37
Minutes
2619′
Goals
12
Assists
14
Goal Involvements per Match
0.70
Minutes per Goal Involvement
100.73′
It was also clear that, towards the end of the campaign, he was still lacking that match fitness and sharpness that helps make him such a world-class talent.
Fortunately, even though he was still lacking that at the start of this season, he still managed to open his account with a well-taken goal at home to Leeds United on matchday two.
However, as if he hadn’t already dealt with enough bad luck over the last year or so, he also suffered another hamstring injury in that game.
This resulted in him spending another few weeks on the sideline before returning to the fray in the second half against Manchester City last month.
This setback has undoubtedly led to him being a bit rusty over the last few weeks, but even so, his immense talent has seen him remain the most dangerous attacker in Arteta’s side.
Moreover, he’s started to look somewhere close to his best again over the last week or so, and the difference has been crystal clear, as while he didn’t score or assist a goal against Fulham on Saturday, he was a huge threat, racking up an expected assists figure of 0.55 and playing seven key passes.
And then, while he wasn’t quite as influential on Tuesday, he still looked like the Gunners’ most realistic route to goal for much of the first 45, with former professional turned pundit Paul Merson claiming he had the Spanish side “on toast” at points.
In all, despite still not being at his peak, Saka is undoubtedly Arsenal’s most important player and talisman, so it’s pretty exciting to see another player start to show shades of his game in their own.
The Arsenal star emulating Saka
You really could take your pick when it came to standout performers for Arsenal on Tuesday.
Declan Rice was on point once again with his deliveries, Viktor Gyokeres nabbed a brace, and Gabriel Magalhães did what he does best.
However, the starter who once again exhibited some Saka-esque qualities in his game was Myles Lewis-Skelly.
The young Englishman was handed his third start of the season, and he more than repaid Arteta, but what in his game showed shades of his fellow Hale Ender?
Well, perhaps the most important is his ability to pull opposition players towards him, and then skip past them with ease to set up a promising attacking situation for the team.
This is exactly what he did for the second goal on the night, when he took five players out of the game with an incredible run from the middle of the park before setting up Gabriel Martinelli.
However, there are more similarities between the two academy gems than just that.
For example, while you can’t describe either one as towering or particularly imposing, both of them are fighters, far stronger than they look and capable of being a little bit nasty in the most complimentary of ways.
Furthermore, the 19-year-old is also technically brilliant, as in addition to his close control, he has a wand of a left foot, which has seen him chalk up a few assists since his debut.
With all that in mind, it’s not hard to see why one analyst described the youngster as one of the best talents “in world football” on Tuesday night.
Ultimately, there is still some way to go for Lewis-Skelly before he reaches his prime, but as things stand, he’s already an outrageous talent and shares more than a few traits with Saka.
